For Freedom
by GirlOnFire15
Summary: It's Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts. Voldemort is running the Ministry, Snape is the Headmaster, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are gone. while they're off saving the world, Ginny is trying to save Hogwarts. But can she save herself?
1. Partings

Partings

Ginny stared at her reflection. A sixteen year old girl with fiery red hair and deep brown eyes stared back. Even Ginny could see the pain clearly reflected in her eyes.

It was September first, and in one short hour she would be on the train to Hogwarts. Alone. Ginny felt a pang as she thought of Ron and Hermione. And Harry. _Especially_ Harry. An image of him came unbidden to her mind.

He was smiling at her, his green eyes warm and thoughtful.

Ginny pushed the thought of him away. But it was too late. All the questions that had been plaguing her for weeks came back. Why did he have to leave? Where did he have to go? And why the heck couldn't she go with him?

Maybe, said a nasty little voice in her head, maybe he didn't _want_ you to come. After all, he'd never told her he loved her. Not once. And he broke up with her, not the other way around.

"No," said Ginny sternly to her reflection. "You love Harry. And Harry loves you. So get over this inferiority complex you seem to have and _trust_ _him_."

"Ginny, it's time to leave!" called Mrs. Weasley. Ginny turned her back on her reflection and dragged her trunk downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were waiting for her, along with Fred and George.

It looked like Mrs. Weasley had been crying, and Ginny didn't need to ask why. Molly was still upset about Harry, Ron and Hermione leaving, and now she was losing Ginny to Hogwarts. Even though she'd never say it, Ginny knew that her mother was afraid that she'd never see them again. Ginny, however, had complete faith in all of them. They'd come back.

They all rode together to the King's Cross station. Mr. Weasley was thrilled to be going by Muggle transportation ("Look at this, Molly! Ingenious, these Muggles. Simply ingenious!") Ginny was hardly aware of what was going on as they went through the barrier and onto Platform nine and three quarters, where a huge black and scarlet train waited.

The platform was loud and busy. Before the war, only parents and siblings came to see them off. But now, the possibility that anyone would make it to see another day was low, so everyone in a family-parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles- they all came.

"Ginny, you be careful this year, you understand?" said Molly, breaking into Ginny's thoughts. "Snape is the new headmaster, so tread carefully. Don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything Hermione wouldn't do."

"What's this, Mum, you don't want her to have any fun at all?" asked Fred, trying to lighten the mood. George snorted.

"Yeah, Hermione's about as much fun at Hogwarts as a nosebleed," he said in agreement with his brother "Excuse us for a moment, Mum." He and Fred pulled Ginny away from Molly and Arthur, ignoring their glances.

"Speaking of nosebleeds and other ailments, little sister, we have something for you." And he looked pointedly at Fred, who handed Ginny a tiny black box that could sit in her palm. There were two tiny Ws on it that were a violent shade of magenta.

"Er, thanks," she said. Fred and George laughed, and Molly looked at them suspiciously.

"We've magically expanded that box to hold some of our products," explained George.

"Yeah," said Fred. "There's some Skiving Snackboxes, Canary Custards-"

"Peruvian instant darkness powder, a Jinx-proof cloak-"

"And, of course, fireworks and a few other random panic-inducing, havoc-wreaking things in there. So make sure and give the old bat what he deserves. Oh, before I forget- we imbued that box with an Undetectable spell so dear old Filch won't find it. It was a nasty little spell too, so I hope you appreciate it." Fred sighed and turned to George.

"And without further ado," said George, "we present you with our hypothetical scepter and we (hypothetically) crown you the newest Weasley Mischief-Maker. Do us proud, little sis."

Suddenly, Ginny couldn't talk past the lump in her throat. "I'll send you a toilet seat," she finally said. Fred and George grinned at the reminder of their old pranks. They both gave Ginny a hug, then they rejoined Molly and Arthur.

"We love you, Ginny," said Molly. She and Arthur hugged Ginny, then stepped back.

"Yeah, so do we," said Fred. Ginny had never heard Fred or George actually admit that they loved her. Of course she knew they did, but their admittance of that fact threw another into sharp relief: this might be the last time she would ever see any of them.

"The train's about to leave," said Molly. "You'd better get on it."

Fred and George helped Ginny carry her trunk on board, then gave her a parting wink and left. Ginny walked through the compartments until she found an empty one. Then she yanked the window open and scanned the crowd for her family.

They weren't hard to find; every single person had flaming red hair that was easy to pick out, even in a crowd like this.

"Mum! Dad! Fred!" she yelled. They looked up, and she waved wildly at them. The train gave a lurch underneath her, and it began to move.

"I love you!" she yelled. Molly said something, but Fred and George drowned her out.

"DO US PROUD, GINNY!" they roared in unison. Ginny felt a huge surge of affection for her brothers.

The train was picking up speed, but Ginny and the Weasleys waved. Then the train turned a corner, and they were gone.

"I _will_ make you proud," she whispered. "I promise."

Note: First of all, thank you SO MUCH for reading and please REVIEW. I will get back to everyone who does. And second, I don't like to do long chapters. I think it's easier on your eyes if you have shorter ones, so that's what I'm going to do. They won't be any shorter than this though.

Thank you, I'll have more chapters up soon- I've already written a few. Now it's just a matter of putting them on FanFicton.


	2. Weasel Queen

Weasel Queen

Ginny decided that she'd best get a move on, so she searched the train for Neville and Luna. She found them in the very last compartment. She slid the door open.

"Hey, Neville. Luna," she said.

"Hello Ginny," said Luna in her airy voice. Neville grinned at her as she sat next to Luna.

"So, Gin, I think we ought to start up the D.A. again. What do you think?" asked Neville.

"Ooh, yes," said Luna. "I really quite enjoyed it last time."

"Fine," said Ginny. "But we've got to be more careful this time. With Snape as Headmaster, we can't afford to be found out."

"I still can't believe it," said Neville in disbelief. "Snape kills Dumbledore, and then becomes Headmaster himself! It's wrong. Sick."

"I agree. So I say we give the old bat some trouble," said Ginny. "Fred and George gave me a box full of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes before I left. I'm hoping they left some Permanent Paint, you know, for graffiti purposes."

"I didn't see Dean on the platform," said Neville sadly. "Or Colin. Or Dennis. They're not coming back."

Ginny shook her head in anger. "This thing about the Muggle-borns is ridiculous! If Muggles could steal magic, then there wouldn't be any Squibs!"

"I know," said Neville. There was silence for several minutes, except for Luna, who was humming a cheery tune. When the lunch trolley came several hours later, Neville bought some chocolate frogs and shared them with Ginny and Luna. Ginny had a dozen corned beef sandwiches in her bag, but she left them there.

Ginny hated those sandwiches; they reminded her of Ron. Ron had always hated corned beef. Ron had told her about Harry when he came back from his first year of Hogwarts. He'd told her that Harry had bought practically the entire trolley, and then the two of them had proceeded to eat the lot.

Ginny felt a hollow ache in her chest. It was an ache that had already become familiar to her; it only appeared when she thought of Harry. Ginny focused on the sounds of Neville and Luna's breathing. She focused on the scenery outside the train. Anything to distract her from thoughts of Harry.

It was the most subdued train ride Ginny had ever experienced on the Hogwarts Express. Neville halfheartedly suggested a game of Exploding Snap, but Ginny wasn't in the mood and Luna gazed absently out the window, still humming.

"We'll probably be there soon," said Ginny. "I'm going to go change into my robes."

Ginny took her robes out of her trunk and headed to find the nearest restroom. She quickly changed into her robes and sat on the restroom floor. She felt like she was going to cry, and she needed to be in control of herself before she went back.

Ginny had never felt so alone in her life. Harry was gone. Hermione was gone. Ron was gone. She was the only Weasley left at Hogwarts. Ginny felt a tear slide down her cheek, and she brushed it away impatiently. She hadn't cried since she was six, and she wasn't about to start now.

"Look at yourself, Ginny," she said aloud. "Falling to pieces just because you're alone! You're being stupid. You told Fred and George you'd make them proud. This is _not_ the way to do that. Grow up."

Ginny took several deep breaths. Then she stood up and left the restroom. On her way back to her compartment, she ran into the last people on earth she wanted to see.

"Hey there, Weasley," drawled Malfoy. "I see that your precious Potter isn't here. Neither is buck-tooth Granger or your brother, the Weasel King. I guess that makes you the last Weasley, eh?"

"Get out of my way, Malfoy," snapped Ginny.

"Ooh, the Weasel Queen's getting angry," said Malfoy to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Real mature, _Draco_," said Ginny, drawing out his name to demonstrate her contempt. "You'd better leave before I jinx you."

Malfoy drew out his wand. "Bring it on, Weasel Queen," he said with an air of excitement. "Get out of the way, Crabbe. You too, Goyle."

Ginny raised her own wand high. She waited, poised to strike.

"_Tarantellegra!"_ he shouted.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ yelled Ginny. Their spells met in the center, one blue, and one red. Ginny ducked as Malfoy sent another spell at her.

"_STUPEFY!"_ shrieked Ginny. The jet of light hit Malfoy squarely in the chest, and he toppled backwards. Ginny held her wand aloft as she approached Malfoy.

"_Ennervate_," she said, tapping one of his eyelids with her wand. His eyes snapped open, and he leapt up.

"You'll regret that, Weasley," he spat. "You wait till I tell Professor Snape about this!"

"Yeah," said Ginny coolly. "Wait till he finds out you were jinxed by a girl. And a blood traitor girl, at that. I'm sure he'd be very impressed."

Malfoy stepped closer to her until they were nearly nose to nose. "Watch it, Weasley," he snarled. "You don't have Potter to save you this time."

Ginny found immense satisfaction in what she did next. She spat in his face and stomped on his toe. Then she left him swearing and hopping on one foot. Ginny giggled at the look on his face.

Fred and George would be proud of her for that.

_Harry would be proud too,_ whispered a voice in her head.

Ginny was in a considerably better mood when she rejoined Neville and Luna.

"Oi! Where've you been?" asked Neville. Ginny grinned hugely at him.

"I got into a duel with Malfoy," she said.

"Did you win?"

"Of course," she said as though she were insulted. "Do you have so little faith in me?"

Neville just laughed. "Did you get him with a Bat-Bogey Hex?"

Ginny frowned. "No. I wonder why I didn't think of that. I Stunned him. So. The D.A. Any plans?"

"Well, Luna and I were thinking about the name. D'you think we should call it Potter's Army, instead of Dumbledore's Army?" asked Neville.

"No," said Ginny without hesitation. "Harry would hate that. Besides, I love the name Dumbledore's Army. Dumbledore was killed by Snape. So the name 'Dumbledore's Army' stands for everything we're fighting for. Snape's downfall. Voldemort's downfall. Harry's victory. Plus, it was Harry's group to begin with. How can we get rid of a name that says so much about us?"

Neville nodded. "I agree."

"So do I," said Luna dreamily.

"Good. It's settled, then. We keep 'Dumbledore's Army,'" said Ginny. The rest of the train ride passed in a blur of plans: pranks and graffiti and morale boosters.

Ginny made it her personal mission to 'save' Hogwarts. It wasn't a hero complex; she wanted her friends to be safe. And besides, almost her entire family was in the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were off saving the world.

Well, thought Ginny, if they could do all that, then she most certainly wasn't going to be idle. They were saving the world. She would save Hogwarts. She would make sure that she did her part in this war. When Harry came back, she wanted him to know that she'd done all she could to help.


	3. An Absence of Oddment

An Absence of Oddment

It was freezing when they got off the train. And raining, hard. The sky was black and angry with storm clouds. They had to wait ten minutes for the next carriage.

But when the carriage came, Ginny saw that it was no longer horseless. It was pulled by two huge, ugly beasts-skeletal horses. Ginny knew what they were: thestrals, creatures that one could only see if they'd seen someone die.

Ginny had been there in the Department of Mysteries two years earlier; she'd seen Sirius die, killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, his cousin. She remembered how hard it had been for Harry, what it had done to him. He wasn't the same. Sirius's death, along with Dumbledore's, had destroyed him, killed the little peace left inside him.

Ginny knew this because Harry had told her. He'd told her of his determination to win, to see Voldemort dead. Ginny knew that part of that was about her. He wanted to see her safe.

Ginny bitterly contemplated his words. "I need to, Ginny," he'd said, when she asked him why he had to leave. "I need to see you safe."

His words didn't make his departure any easier. In fact, the thing that hurt the most was the fact that she'd had everything she wanted. But she knew he'd leave. He had that stupid noble streak that she loved and hated at the same time.

Her deepest fear, though she wouldn't admit it to any one else, was that Harry would die, and she would never know what would have been. Ginny thought about the kiss, the one that had taken place in her room over the summer. Of course, Ron had interrupted, like the idiot he was, and Harry had left rather in a hurry.

It hurt. The memory of him walking away from her was almost more than she could take.

"Ginny. GINNY!"

Neville's face loomed in front of Ginny. Ginny suddenly realized that they were standing outside the Great Hall. A low murmur came from the open doors, and the sound seemed ominous and sinister to Ginny.

She took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Ginny had been expecting a tangible change, but to her great surprise, everything was almost exactly how it always was. Almost.

There were some changes: Snape sat in Dumbledore's chair. The Carrows sat at the teachers' table too. McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn and Hagrid were still there, much to Ginny's relief.

She caught Hagrid's eye, and he waved a hand the size of a dustbin. His eyes swept the hall, then he sighed heavily.

Ginny sat down at the Gryffindor table with Neville and Luna.

"Hey," said Seamus Finnigan glumly. "You heard anything from Dean?"

They shook their heads. "Natalie MacDonald isn't coming back, either," said Lavender Brown. "Parvati's parents told her she couldn't come back this year," she continued in a low voice. "But she kicked up a fuss. So they let her come back. But at the first sign of trouble, they're pulling her out. Padma as well."

Snape stood up. "Silence," he said. He spoke at a normal volume, but his voice carried and everyone fell silent. "As your inferior minds might have noticed, we have a few staffing changes this year. Alecto Carrow will be your new Muggle Studies teacher. Amycus Carrow is the new Dark Arts teacher."

Whispers broke out all around the hall. Dark Arts. For Ginny, Snape's casual elimination of the "Defense Against" was infuriating. Across from her, Seamus called Snape a filthy name.

Snape surveyed them with cold black eyes. "Silence," he said. "The next person to talk will get a month's worth of detention, and I assure that it will not be pleasant." When no one spoke, Snape smiled tightly and went on.

"In addition to our staffing changes, we have a few changes in other areas as well. Muggle Studies is now mandatory for all students. Any contact with Harry Potter is absolutely forbidden. You'll find a full list of rules, as well as restricted items, on Mr. Filch's door. Failure to comply with the rules with result in severe punishment. Any Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are strictly prohibited."

Ginny suddenly felt enormously glad that Fred had put an Undetectable Charm on the box full of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Snape went on to say that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden, and that anyone who had any news of Harry Potter was to tell a teacher immediately.

"We will now begin our feast," said Snape, and the tables were suddenly laden with food. Ginny thought the "welcoming" speech was very cold, and she missed Dumbledore's eccentric collection of words that he usually saved for these occasions.

"What was it that Dumbledore used to say?" asked Neville. "'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"I've never heard him say that," said Ginny.

"Neither have I," said Luna, who eating something Ginny didn't recognize. "Do you two feel that Wrackspurt in here? Be careful…"

Ginny and Neville, who were far too used to Luna's odd views to say anything, simply returned to their conversation.

"I guess you two wouldn't have heard it. I think he said it in my first year. I never forgot it- I just thought he was so odd. Great man, Dumbledore," said Neville as he heaped potatoes onto his plate. Ginny picked up a handful of fries but didn't eat them.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "Let's see if we can show these Death Eaters who we're really fighting for."

**NOTE:**

**Hey guys! Sorry Ginny's so absentminded in these first few chapters… she'll get better. Right now she's just having some trouble adjusting to life without Harry, Ron and Hermione. But Ginny's strong, and she'll show that much more in the coming chapters.**

**I'm not J.K. Rowling. All my information comes from a.) the Books themselves, or b.) the Harry Potter Lexicon. Very helpful sight for all Potter freaks. (Like me.)**

**Mike: **_Thanks for your review, I will most definitely keep it coming. It's all I write right now._

**MandieLunaGinny: **_Thank you! I really appreciated your review._

**Amethyst Rose Chance: **_Thanks for that review. And you know, I always thought of Ginny as being sort of the female version of Fred and George, so it seemed natural to me that Ginny take their (hypothetical) scepter and become the new Weasley Mischief-Maker. I'm not saying that Ginny isn't her own person, because she most certainly is. I'm just saying that she definitely has a streak of the Twins in her._

**Thanks so much, everyone, and keep the reviews coming!**


	4. Blood Traitor

Blood Traitor Weasley

Professor McGonagall handed out their schedules at breakfast the next morning. Ginny scanned it: Charms, Potions, Herbology, Muggle Studies.

Beside her, Neville gave a splutter of indignation. "Look at this, Ginny! The sixth and seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins are together in Potions and Muggle Studies! It'll be a nightmare!"

"I expect they didn't have enough students, since they chucked out all the Muggle borns," replied Ginny. "I'm not worried about it. I could take any one of them down."

Neville laughed uneasily.

Charms went by fairly normally. Professor Flitwick acted as though everything was completely normal. They reviewed Summoning Charms, and went over the syllabus. Ginny noticed that there were no defensive charms on the list this year, unlike the last five years. _They probably don't want us to form an army_, she though contemptuously.

Neville was right about Potions-it was an absolute nightmare. Professor Slughorn was a pleasant enough teacher, but the Slytherins were terrible. With the sixth and seventh years in together, it had double the Slytherins taunting and mocking.

On the other hand, there was twice the amount of Gryffindors to prod them right back. All in all, it made for a very interesting lesson.

They reviewed the Confusing & Befuddlement Draught. Ginny glared at Malfoy as she added her ingredients: sneezewort, scurvy-grass and lovage. Malfoy glared right back, cutting his caterpillar with a very deliberate movement that clearly demonstrated that he would dearly like to do the same thing to Ginny.

Soon the dungeon was a haze of silver mist. Ginny helped Neville with his potion, since he was inept at potions, and his potion looked like bubbling tar instead of the precise shade of magenta the book called for.

Malfoy waited until Slughorn had his back turned. Then he sauntered over to Ginny and Neville with an insufferable expression on his face.

"Hey there, Longbottom. Weasel Queen," he said. Ginny scowled at him.

"Why do you call me that?" she asked in irritation. Malfoy smirked.

"Because you're the same as your brother. _Weasley was born in a bin…_ you see the similarities," he said, delighted at his own supposed cleverness. Ginny resisted the urge to whip out her want and jinx him until he was nothing but a slug.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Oh, careful, Weasley," he sneered. "Wouldn't want to get into trouble. I heard what'll happen to those in detention. It's awful. Harry wouldn't want his dear little Ginny to get _hurt,_ would he?"

"Malfoy_. Shut. Up_. Now."

"But Potter won't be around to hear what happened, will he? Because he's going to _die_, Weasley," said Malfoy, ignoring Ginny. He spoke in a loud voice that carried through the dungeons. Ginny dearly wanted to hit him. "He's no match for the Dark Lord. I'd find another half-blood to love, if _I_ were you."

"Leave NOW," said Ginny. "Or else I really will jinx you."

"Ooh, I'm scared now," said Malfoy mockingly.

"You should be," fired Ginny. Malfoy evidently decided that he'd had enough fun. Either that, or he really was a coward. Ginny fancied the latter. Unfortunately, a tall, stringy boy by the name of Theodore Nott slunk up beside Malfoy.

"Is the blood traitor giving you trouble, Draco?" he asked. Most of the students were watching by now. Most of the Gryffindors were D.A. members, and their hands hovered over their wands.

"Yeah, Draco," echoed Ginny. "Are you afraid of the little _blood traitor_ _Weasley girl_?" she asked in a wicked imitation of Nott.

"Shut up, Weasley," he snapped.

"Or what? You'll go tell your _father_?"

Ginny watched in satisfaction as Malfoy's face turned very pink. He muttered something under his breath and walked away. At the last second, he whipped around, pulling his wand out of his robes.

"_Levicorpus!"_ he yelled. But Ginny had been expecting it. She was ready.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ said Ginny. Malfoy's wand spun out of his hand.

"_Locomotor Mortis!"_ Ginny shouted triumphantly. Her spell hit Malfoy in the leg, which was all too appropriate, since it was the Leg-Locker Curse. Malfoy was forced to hop around, yelling and swearing.

"Fix this, Weasley!" he commanded. Ginny giggled.

"I would, but I haven't learned the counter curse," said Ginny coolly. The room was completely silent. Ginny turned to the Gryffindors and raised her arms in the air in victory.

"And that's what happens when you mess with a WEASLEY!" shouted Ginny. The Gryffindors broke into peals of laughter and cheering.

"Weasley, Weasley…"

"WEASLEY, WEASLEY!"

"_Miss Weasley_!" thundered a voice. Ginny turned around guiltily. Slughorn stood behind her with a shocked expression on his face. Malfoy smirked, and Nott chuckled unpleasantly.

"Er, I can explain, sir…"

"Miss Weasley, that was an excellent Leg Locker Curse! You are a very talented witch. Although in the future," he added, "you may want to learn the counter curse."

Ginny watched in amusement as Malfoy's face turned from smug to dumbfounded, then to horrified. The Gryffindors watched Malfoy hop out of the dungeon, laughing so hard they thought they might cry.

Word spread fast through Hogwarts, and soon even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws knew about the confrontation between Ginny and Malfoy. She was congratulated all through lunch and Herbology, with many cheers and pats on the back.

But she dreaded Muggle studies, and rightly so. There was a definite feeling of fear and hostility, emanating from the students and Professor Carrow, respectively. Alecto watched the students as they sat at the desks and pulled out their books: _Secrets of the Darkest Arts_. It was a huge black book, and Ginny was apprehensive enough just to _touch_ it, let alone actually _read_ it.

Alecto was a very unattractive woman, short and stout with greasy hair sprouting from her head. She had beady little eyes and a strangely shaped head. She bore a very strong resemblance to a mountain troll.

"Welcome to Muggle Studies," she said in a low voice that sounded as if it should come from a toad instead of a woman.

"Muggles," she began, "are stupid, ignorant creatures. They're stupid and dirty and the whole lot of them should be exterminated- something that is in progression now. You-"

"Excuse me," said Ginny loudly. "I disagree."

The classroom went silent. Alecto blinked once. "I didn't ask for your opinion, did I? Now, back to what I was saying-"

Alecto stopped and stared at Ginny, who had stood up. "What now?" she asked in a disgruntled tone.

"Muggles have just as much right to be here as we do," said Ginny. "Yeah, they don't have magic, but look at what they've done _without _it!"

"Weasley's only saying that because her father's a Muggle-lover," said Malfoy in a carrying whisper. Ginny looked at him contemptuously.

"Yeah," she shot back. "My family _does_ like Muggles. You and your family, you just think you're above them, but you're not. In fact, I think most Muggles are _better _than you. So shut it, Malfoy. Unless you'd like a repeat of Potions. In that case, I only have one thing to say:_ bring it."_

"That's enough," snapped Alecto. "Come here, Miss Weasley."

Ginny walked up to Alecto and looked her in the eye, trying to convey her hate and defiance with her eyes.

"Miss Weasley is about to demonstrate what happens to those who are disruptive in my class," said Alecto in a deadly tone. She pointed her wand at Ginny. "_Crucio_."

Ginny gasped. She was being burned alive, cut with white hot knives. She was on fire and freezing to death at the same time. Her entire body felt as though it would shatter. She couldn't breathe. It took a moment for Ginny realize that she was screaming.

The pain ceased. Ginny took a deep breath and picked herself up off the floor. The Slytherins looked at her with glee on their faces, and Alecto looked highly entertained. Ginny spit in Alecto's face.

Alecto made a slashing movement with her wand, and pain shot across Ginny's face. She clapped a hand to her cheek. When it came away it was marked with blood.

"Sit down _now_ and don't disrupt my class again," said Alecto. Ginny sat down and pressed the edge of her robes against her face.

"Are you alright?" whispered Neville. Ginny nodded. Her anger simmered just underneath, just out of reach. She took several deep breaths to regain control. She ignored Alecto's remarks about Muggles being stupid and lazy. It seemed to drag on forever. Finally, the bell rang for dinner.

"Class dismissed," said Alecto. And as Ginny left, Alecto shot her a look of deepest loathing. So Ginny did something very immature. She stuck her tongue out at Alecto, and the door swung shut behind her.


	5. Like and Lead

Like and Lead

"Come on, Ginny," said Neville. "Let's get you to the Hospital Wing."

Ginny thought about protesting, but she really was in pain, so she followed Neville.

"I can't believe they did that," he said angrily. "That was wrong. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," replied Ginny. "And it _was_ wrong. But I _can_ believe they did that. We've got to remember that it's Voldemort who's running everything now. Not Fudge, not Scrimgeor. Things are different now."

"I say we start Dumbledore's Army as soon as possible. We can't let this go on!" exclaimed Neville. Ginny whole heartedly agreed, but by that time they had reached the Hospital Wing, and they had to stop talking about it.

"Oh my," exclaimed Madame Pomfrey. "What happened?"

Ginny and Neville exchanged a look. "I interrupted Professor Carrow in Muggle Studies," said Ginny. Madame Pomfrey looked at them with in befuddlement.

"But how did you get that cut?" she asked.

"I just told you. I interrupted Professor Carrow," Ginny repeated. "And she made this slashing movement with her wand, and that's how I got it."

Madame Pomfrey looked horrified. "I'm sorry Miss Weasley, but there's nothing I can do about injuries inflicted with dark magic. It'll have to heal on its own."

Ginny swore under her breath. "Thanks anyway," she said to Madame Pomfrey. She and Neville left the hospital wing, roundly abusing the Carrows and Snape.

"Neville, I think we ought to have a D.A. meeting _tonight_," said Ginny. "Right after dinner."

"Alright. Let's go around to the D.A. members… but only the ones we know we can trust," replied Neville.

"Smith is out," said Ginny, referring to Zacharias Smith, an obnoxious Hufflepuff that Ginny had never trusted. Neville nodded.

"Never liked him. What about Michael Corner?" he asked Ginny warily. Ginny kept her face smooth and her voice cool.

"We need as many people as we can get. I don't Michael would rat us out," she said. Nevertheless, she knew it would be weird and awkward with him there. But she couldn't let personal issues get in the way.

"You tell Hannah," said Ginny slyly. Neville blandly ignored her.

"Fine. She'll get to the other Hufflepuffs," he said. "You talk to Luna about the Ravenclaws, and we'll split up the Gryffindors," he replied.

Ginny agreed, but there was still the problem of the teachers. It would look incredibly suspicious to the teachers if Ginny and Neville kept going over to other Houses' tables, especially the teachers who knew about Dumbledore's Army from Ginny's fourth year.

Ginny shook off her doubts. This was important-possibly even a matter of life and death, once you got right to it, and Ginny resolved to be strong.

When they got to the Great Hall, Ginny searched the Ravenclaw table for Luna. She found Luna enthusiastically telling a rather uncomfortable Terry Boot about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

"Er, Luna, could I have a word?" asked Ginny. Terry looked immensely relieved and scuttled off.

"Luna, we're starting Dumbledore's Army again. Do you want to be a part of it?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, I do," said Luna. "I'll talk to the other Ravenclaws."

"That'd be great, Luna, but only talk to people who we know are trustworthy. Tell them to come to the Room of Requirement at seven."

"I will," said Luna cheerfully, and Ginny believed her. That only left the Gryffindors. She decided to talk to Seamus Finnigan first.

"Seamus," she said, coming up behind him. He jumped about a foot in the air and nearly hit her in the face.

"Blimey, Ginny! Don't be sneaking up on a bloke like that!" he exclaimed. Ginny grinned.

"Sorry, Seamus. There's a D.A. meeting tonight, if you'd like to come."

"Yeah, I would. What time's it at?"

"Seven, in the Room of Requirement."

"I'll be there!" he said enthusiastically.

"OI! Ginny!" someone called. Ginny turned around to see Neville waving at her from farther down the bench. Ginny sat down next to him.

"What?" she asked.

"I got to Hannah and most of the Gryffindors," he said.

"Great. Now that we're done now, I need food. I'm starved," replied Ginny. Neville heartily agreed, and they didn't talk about the D.A. again for the duration of dinner.

At ten to seven, Ginny saw that a lot of people from the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were getting up and heading out the door.

"Time to go," she whispered to Neville. They got up and, as inconspicuously as possible, left the hall.

Most of the teachers were still at dinner, so getting to the Room of Requirement was an easy matter. When they got there, it was nearly full. Ginny recognized every single person: Luna, of course, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Lavender Brown, Susan Bones, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Seamus, Anthony Goldstein, Ernie Macmillan, and the Patil twins, Parvati and Padma.

Ginny and Neville made their way to the front of the room.

"Thanks for coming, everyone!" yelled Neville. "We just thought, seeing as Voldemort's taken over and the old bat is in charge of Hogwarts, that we ought to start the D.A. up again. You know, do more of the same thing we did two years ago- hexes and defensive spells and such. And some graffiti and stuff like that, too."

"Let's pick a leader," said Ernie Macmillan. Neville nodded.

"Right. I nominate… Ginny," he said. Ginny drew back in surprise. She fully expected those in the room to laugh, or scoff, or say that was crazy.

"I think that's a great idea," said Luna dreamily. "Ginny's very nice, I like her."

"It's not a question of whether you _like_ someone," said Michael Corner irritably. "It's a question of whether Ginny can _lead_ us."

"You're only saying that because she dumped you, Corner," said Neville. "All in favor of Ginny?"

Every hand went up, with the exception of Michael.

"Well then. Ginny, anything you'd like to say?"

Ginny took a deep breath and faced them. "I just want to say, thanks. And I'll do my best, I promise. I won't let you down. But before we get too excited, I want to say something." Ginny paused. "I want to make sure you all know what you're getting into. It'll be hard and dangerous. At some point, we're all going to get hurt. We're all putting our trust in each other. If you can't handle it, tell us now and leave."

No one moved. Ginny knew that everyone was looking at the deep cut on her face; she was glad. They needed to see the consequences of defiance. She didn't want them to get into something they couldn't handle.

"Good. But let me say this: if any of you decide to betray us, you'll have blood-the blood of every person in this room- on your hands."

Ginny looked at her friends. None of them looked doubtful, or even slightly hesitant. There was only determination.

"We know, Ginny," said Seamus. "We're doing this for Harry."

Ginny nodded once.

"Alright then. Let's get to work."

**Thanks for reading and please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!! I can't even stress how much I want you to review. And MILD criticism is accepted… I would really prefer not to get any flames. Thanks again for reading!**


	6. Hunting for Horcruxes

Now that the first order of business, choosing a leader, was done, there was a lot to do. Ginny had them split into pairs and practice Patronuses and Shield charms. It was a good thing, too, Ginny thought, because they'd all gotten a bit rusty in the past two years.

It would have been quite amusing, really, if it wasn't so worrisome. Luna's Patronus, a silver hare, gamboled around the room, until Terry Boot's Stunner hit her, and she had to be revived by Seamus. Lavender Brown's Leg-Locker Jinx hit the bookshelf and knocked half of the books onto Ernie Macmillan's head.

Ginny practiced with Neville, who had become quite a formidable opponent. He successfully managed to disarm her several times, and his shield charm was superb. Ginny was grateful to Harry for dealing with the initial lack of skill, because that meant she didn't have to.

Ginny was helping Padma Patil with her Shield charm when Neville tapped her shoulder. _Time_, he mouthed. Ginny looked at her watch- it was after nine.

"Um, okay everyone, it's time to go! We've stayed a little longer than we ought to, so be careful that you don't get caught going back to your common rooms!" she said loudly. There was a mutter of disappointment, but everyone left rather quickly.

"Well, I think that was quite successful," said Ginny as she and Neville left ten minutes later. They were very, very careful as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Where were you at this time of night?" asked the Fat Lady grumpily.

"Nowhere. _Harry Potter_," said Neville. Ginny's stomach lurched uncomfortably. She frowned at Neville.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"Harry Potter. New password," he said, in answer to Ginny's perplexed look.

"Interesting choice," replied Ginny, feigning only mild interest. In reality, her heart pounded inside her chest and she felt slightly dizzy. She kept her voice light. "At least it's an easy one to remember."

The effect of Harry's name was incredible. Even just hearing his name sent Ginny into a strange mood, and that was the opposite of helpful. Ginny said goodnight to Neville and retreated to her dormitory. Ginny sat on the windowsill and stared at the star-strewn sky outside her window.

This year at Hogwarts was going to be different; Ginny knew it, she could feel it in every bone in her body. She knew that they all needed to be careful-more careful than they'd ever had to be before. The stakes were higher and the cost was greater.

It would be a long fight. Ginny didn't know where Harry had gone, but she'd done enough eavesdropping to know that he was looking for things called _Horcruxes, _and presumably, that would take awhile. Ginny didn't have the slightest idea of what Horcruxes were, but she intended to find out. It sounded like Dark magic to her, and with Snape and the Carrows in charge, it couldn't be that hard to learn about anything Dark.

Unfortunately, it was harder than Ginny thought.

For one thing, Ginny wanted to make sure that she wasn't overheard. On Thursday, she dawdled at the end of Dark Arts, waiting until every student had left the room. Neville stopped at the door, but Ginny gestured for him to go on.

"Er, Professor Carrow, I had a question about a term I came across yesterday," she said. She tried to keep her voice light and innocent. Amycus sat behind his desk, eating a chocolate from Honeydukes.

"What?" he asked irritably, Ginny ignored his glare and plowed on.

"Well, you see, I was reading a book yesterday-you know, to understand some of these things a little better- and I came across a word I didn't understand. It sounded like a rather obscure piece of magic, and I thought you might be able to explain it to me."

"Yes, yes, what is it?" Amycus asked impatiently.

"Well, I think it was called a- Horcrux," said Ginny. Amycus frowned. Something flickered in his eyes, and Ginny felt a leap of hope. But as quickly as she had seen it, it was gone.

"Never heard of them," he said brusquely. "Now get out. I've got work ter do."

Ginny didn't waste any time leaving. She hurried out of the room, already contemplating how to breach the subject with another teacher.

She gave Neville vague excuses for staying behind, and dodged all of his questions- an art she had learned well from Fred and George.

To be honest, Ginny was a little surprised that Professor Carrow hadn't heard of Horcruxes. Then again, he definitely wasn't the brightest of teachers, so Ginny decided to ask Professor McGonagall.

The next few days went by excruciatingly slowly. Ginny spent many hours pondering the thorny topic of how to ask Professor McGonagall about Horcruxes. It almost definitely had to do with some branch of complex dark magic, and judging by Harry's secrecy, Ginny assumed that no one besides him, Ron and Hermione were meant to know that he was after these Horcruxes, whatever they were.

And one had to be careful in Hogwarts, because once one person knew something, it spread through the school like wildfire. There were no secrets among the students. Ginny paid careful attention in the next Transfiguration class on Friday, taking care to execute her spell perfectly. Maybe McGonagall would be more likely to tell Ginny the truth if she was in a good mood. The class rushed by, and all too soon it was time to talk to McGonagall.

Neville didn't take Transfiguration, so it was easy to hang back and wait until all the students had left. McGonagall looked at Ginny with her beady eyes. "Is there something you need, Miss Weasley?" she asked. Ginny thought she saw a look of pity stir behind her eyes.

"Er, yes, actually," said Ginny. "Professor McGonagall, I have to ask you a question." Ginny was stalling, since she still had no clue how to broach the topic. To her surprise, Professor McGonagall sighed and sat down in her chair.

"I was expecting this," she said. Utterly nonplussed, Ginny just stared at her. "Miss Weasley, I do not know the whereabouts of Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, or Miss Granger. They seem to have up and disappeared without a trace. Wise of them," she said, gazing distastefully and the Dark Mark that was now etched on every door of the castle. "But if you ever need to talk, Miss Weasley, I would be happy to oblige."

Professor McGonagall spoke in a voice that was less stern than usual-almost gentle. Ginny was quite taken aback. She scrambled for something to say as McGonagall adjusted her spectacles.

"Er, thanks, Professor, but I have a question," began Ginny. Professor McGonagall gestured for her to go on, so Ginny swallowed and continued. "What's a Horcrux?" she asked, suddenly deciding to abandon the more roundabout ways to ask.

She did not expect Professor McGonagall's reaction.

McGonagall gasped and leaned back in shock, knocking a tin of biscuits to the ground. She looked at Ginny in horror. "Miss Weasley," she said in a tight voice, "would you care to tell me where you heard that term?"

"Um" was all Ginny said. Professor McGonagall looked expectantly at her. "I- I read it in a book," said Ginny lamely, but it was clear that the professor didn't believe her.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell you that. But I will tell you this: Horcruxes are very, very Dark magic. It is a topic that has always been strictly forbidden, and you would do well not to mention it again. This conversation never took place," added Professor McGonagall. Ginny nodded. Disappointed, she left.


	7. Long Live Harry Potter

Neville was waiting for her in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny collapsed into an armchair next to the fire. She had a bad headache, and the noise level only elevated it. "Professor Slughorn wanted me to give you this," said Neville, in a wary tone. Ginny forced her eyes open, and found Neville clutching what looked like an invitation, written on violet paper. Ginny groaned, knowing exactly what it was: another party for the Slug Club, to take place in a week. The Slug Club was a group of students that Professor Slughorn found particularly promising. They attended his dinner parties and brought him his favorite crystallized pineapple in exchange for career opportunities and a good word at the Ministry.

"Are you going?" Ginny asked Neville. He shrugged uncomfortably. He hated them as much as she did. Ginny weighed the pros and the cons. On one hand, there were usually a few Slytherins present, and Ginny doubted that she could keep her temper in check. On the other hand, it might be good to get on Slughorn's good side. Then maybe he would tell her what a Horcrux was.

"I think I'm going to go," said Ginny to Neville. Neville sighed in exasperated defeat.

"Fine," he groaned. "I guess that means I have to go, too." He looked dreadfully unhappy about it. Ginny frowned.

"Why d'you have to go?" she asked. "If you don't want to, I can go by myself."

Neville turned very pink, and looked as though he'd said something he shouldn't have.

"That's okay," he mumbled. "I'll go." He continued to mutter to himself in a thoroughly disgruntled tone. Ginny swore she caught phrases like, "made me promise," and "not going to let him down." Completely mystified, Ginny shook her head and stared into the fire.

What she would give to have Harry's head appear in the fire! But she knew that the Floo Network was certainly being watched, along with every other form of communication. Ginny scowled, and Neville looked oddly at her.

They sat there in silence for a long, long time. The chair Ginny sat in suddenly became very warm and soft, and the fire crackled comfortingly. Ginny's eyes were heavy, and they closed of their own accord.

"Ginny, Ginny," said Neville's voice, what felt like a minute later. Ginny pried her eyes open, then glanced around in confusion. The common room was still empty, but the fire was dead and the sun shone brightly through the windows. "You fell asleep. You've been here all night," Neville informed her. Ginny nodded blearily.

"It's Saturday," said Neville. "I told the D.A. to meet in the Room of Requirement at eleven. That's in ten minutes."

Ginny let that sink in for a moment, then she dashed up to her dormitory. She threw on some clean robes and met Neville in front of the Fat Lady in five minutes. They hurried to the Room of Requirement.

The room was in a complete uproar. People shouted at one another, or simply sat and looked in shock at the wall.

"What's going on?" asked Ginny.

"They took Seamus," said a tearful Lavender Brown. "He didn't mean anything! He just got so mad…"

"Whoa, whoa, hold up," said Ginny. "I'm going to need a little more information than that, Lavender."

"The Carrows took Seamus," said Parvati in a dead voice. "Gave him detention, then just dragged him off."

"For what?" cried Ginny.

"For calling them names, for insulting their precious _Head Death Eater_, and trying to Stun them when they told him off. You know Seamus," said Parvati. She looked dazed, as though she couldn't quite believe what had happened. "Doesn't really think before he does something."

There was silence for several minutes. "This is out of control," said Ginny. "We've barely cleared the first week of school, and already they've…" she trailed off, too agitated to continue. "Well, that's what we're here for, isn't it? To get revenge?"

"Absolutely!"

"I was thinking it's about time to pull some pranks. Some graffiti would be good. Fred and George gave me some Permanent paint, and I think a nice mess that's impossible to clean up would be good fun," said Ginny. The others nodded their agreement.

"What about Seamus?" asked Parvati over the sounds of shuffling and whispering. "We can't just leave him to the Carrows!" She bit her lip nervously.

Ginny sighed. "I don't think there's anything we can do at this point, Parvati," she said. "We don't know where he is. But we'll definitely keep an eye out for him, alright? I think we ought to meet back here at midnight, so no one sees it before morning and there's less chance of being caught," she said. They all agreed, and dispersed quickly to their various common rooms to wait.

"You know what'll happen if we get caught, don't you?" asked Neville.

"I know," said Ginny. "But it's worth it."

They sat in the common room by the fire until everyone had gone to bed. Then, at a quarter to twelve, they quietly slipped out with the other Gryffindor D.A. members and headed to the Room of Requirement.

Everyone had arrived by ten after, and she was relieved to see that none of them had been caught.

Ginny pulled the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes box from her pocket. She opened the lid and rummaged around inside it, emerging with several spray cans of paint, in almost every color. "Fred and George gave this to me before I left," she explained. "It's full of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. What color paint should we use?"

"Gold," said Neville. "It's bright and hard to miss."

"I think we should go for more than one message," said Luna dreamily. "You know, just so everyone sees them. We can split up."

"Great idea, Luna," said Ginny. "Everyone split into groups of three. Decide on a color and take a couple of cans of it."

They were one person short because of Seamus, so Neville and Ginny offered to be a group of two. Ginny sent Padma, Parvati and Lavender to the Great Hall; Ernie, Terry and Luna to the Dark Arts corridor on the first floor; Michael, Susan and Anthony to the fourth floor; she and Neville would stay on the seventh floor and wreak havoc on the walls in the corridor next to the headmaster's office.

As all the D.A. members left, Ginny thought furiously of what she wanted to write. She and Neville were the last to leave. They slipped out of the Room of Requirement and crept down the corridor.

"We're all clear," said Neville as he peered around the corner to check for teachers and Slytherins. She knew what message she wanted. She whispered it in Neville's ear and he grinned. "Excellent idea," he said. "You paint, I'll keep watch."

It took a little over an hour to paint the words on the wall. When she was finished, she and Neville stepped back to admire their work.

"What time is it?" asked Ginny.

Neville checked his watch. "It's one-thirty. We should get back before-"

Footsteps sounded in the hall. The two of them ducked around the corner and sprinted to the Gryffindor Tower, brightly anticipating the triumph of the next day.

The next morning, Ginny dressed at top speed, anxious to see the products of their work. She and Neville made their way down to the Great Hall. Students whispered and pointed to the wall. Ginny grinned and winked at Lavender Brown.

"Nice color choice," she said. "It really pops."

Lavender smiled, but faltered as Alecto Carrow caught her eye. She hurried away. Ginny turned her attention to the bright message painted on the wall behind the Slytherin table. Students gawked and ducked to avoid the various spells that simply bounced off as the teachers tried to remove it.

Only Snape and the Carrows tried to do anything about it. Hagrid, whose beard twitched as he saw it, looked shamelessly cheery; Professor Flitwick looked delighted; and Professor McGonagall sat calmly in her chair, eating her toast as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

The rest of the day was quite amusing. A pleasant leaping sensation took place in Ginny's stomach every time she turned a corner to see students gaping at various graffiti in the castle: _Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting_ in obnoxious pink; _Eat dung, Snape_ in neon orange; _The Ministry of Magic are Morons_, written ironically in bright purple; and finally, in glittering gold, _LONG LIVE HARRY POTTER! _

The entire castle was in an uproar. Students didn't linger in the halls, afraid the blame would be pinned on them. Instead they hurried through the halls and traded rumors in hushed tones. Seamus, who looked very battered, couldn't keep a look of dazed excitement off his face.

"You're mental!" he said to Ginny at lunch. He spoke in an undertone, so Ginny strained to hear him. "The Carrows'll half kill you if they find out!"

Ginny took a bite of mashed potatoes. "Then let's hope they don't," she said as a stream of blood trickled down Seamus's lip.

She and Neville arrived at the Dark Arts classroom to find a long line of anxious students at the door. "They're trying to find out who did it," said Parvati. She looked frightened.

Ginny hopped from one foot to the other as the line shrunk. Neville put his arm around her. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine," he said, but she could hear the fear in his voice.

The line moved far too quickly and all too soon Neville was being ushered into Amycus's office. Ginny rummaged around in her pockets until her fingers encountered a thin string. She put one end of the Extendable Ears into her own ear and slipped the other underneath the door.

4


	8. Mental

"Yer gonna tell me who did this," snarled Alecto Carrow.

"I don't know," Neville lied. "No idea. Sorry."

"You're wasting your time." Snape's silky voice slipped smoothly under the door. "Longbottom's not intelligent enough to come up with something like this on his own. It was the Weasley girl, wasn't it?" he said softly. Ginny froze. Don't say no, she thought. Nothing would convince them more.

"I don't know," said Neville. "What part of that don't you understand? I don't know!"

"Crucio!"

And suddenly Ginny did not need the Extendables, because Neville's yells reverbrated in her brain just fine without their help. His screams drove into her brain like spikes.

"Stop," ordered Snape. "_Legilimens_!"

There was a gasp. "No!" shouted Neville.

"It's like I told you-the Weasley girl was behind it," said Snape.

Heart beating fast, Ginny stuffed the Extendables into her pocket as the door opened. Alecto Carrow grabbed her by the arm. "Here she is!" she crowed. Neville looked horrorstruck.

"Ah. I see you've decided to follow the footsteps of your older brothers," said Snape, eyes glittering, "but the punishments now are different now, I'm afraid."

Ginny raised her chin and squared her shoulders. If she was going to be killed or tortured, she would show them that they could not win. She was stronger than they thought.

"This kind of behavior is unacceptable," said Snape softly. He looked at the Carrows. "I shall leave you to it," he said, and he left.

Ginny tried to hide her fear. Neville's face was baldly terrified. "Ginny," he said, but she shushed him with a quick move of her hand. This was her battle, her punishment, and she did not want him to be involved.

Amycus paced a slow circle around Ginny, a beast eyeing its prey. "What shall we do with yer?" he asked. Ginny stared blankly at the wall as though he had said nothing. "Hand you over to the Slytherins? Not sure they'll be so kind to a blood traitor like yerself."

Neville squeaked.

Amycus grabbed Ginny by the arm. "Bring that one," he snarled at his sister. Alecto grabbed Neville. Ginny thought about fighting, but that would only bring more trouble down upon them. The best thing to do was get the punishment over with as quickly as possible. The Carrows dragged them out of their office and into the classroom. The line of students, many of them D.A. members, gawked at Ginny and Neville.

"We've found 'em," said Amycus. "Git outta here. You stay." He pointed out several students, over half of them Slytherins. Grins graced the features of the Slytherin students. They formed a ring around Neville and Ginny.

She looked up to see a battered, horrified Seamus. He shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I won't do it."

Bruises colored his face, and a scab split his lip. Refusing to torture Ginny and Neville would only result in more punishment. "Do it," Ginny whispered. "Seamus, just do it. Close your eyes and say the spell."

"No!" he shouted. He wheeled on the Carrows. "Are you mental? I won't! You can do whatever you like to me. I won't do it!"

"Seamus, do it," pleaded Neville.

"NO!"

Alecto's wand slashed; Seamus doubled over, holding his face. "No," he said again. Another cut appeared on the shoulder of his robes. "Stop it!" Ginny screamed. "Leave him alone!"

And then there was pain, so bright and severe that it crowded out every thought. At first she felt a sort of relief, thinking it was Seamus, but through her watering eyes she saw that it was Amycus. She cringed against the carpet, writhing, her fingernails scratching and twisting against the ground.

Seamus backed away. He darted out the door, the hem of his robes whipping out of sight. "You thought it was funny, didja, to paint them words on the walls?" hissed Alecto to Neville. "Do you think this is funny?" She nodded at the other students, and they raised their wands.

The pain doubled, tripled, and there was the added horror of hearing Neville shouting beside her, the sting of cuts and welts across her skin.

It lasted for what felt like forever. When the last student lowered his wand, the Carrows nodded. "You c'n go," he said to them. They filed out the door. He knelt in between Ginny and Neville. "The next time you pull somethin' like this, the two of yer will regret it."

His footsteps retreated, and Alecto followed. Once they were gone, Ginny rolled over to face Neville. The Cruciatus curse had left her feeling stiff and sore, and occasional surges of pain still went through various parts of her body. It took her a minute, but she got up. "Come on, Neville," she said hoarsely. He got up and the two of them staggered back to the Gryffindor common room.

Seamus, Lavender and Parvati waited for them. Lavender's eyes widened at the sight of them. "Maybe we shouldn't do this anymore," she said.

"No," snapped Ginny. "Neville and I weren't tortured for nothing. We're going to keep going, no matter what. If you want out, then get out." She limped up the stairs and fell asleep fully clothed on her bed.

The next week, the D.A. kept a fairly low profile. They did little to upset the balance at Hogwarts, at least until their next Dark Arts class. "You, come up here," said Amycus, pointing to Parvati. Trembling, she stood in front of the class. He pointed at Neville. "You, come up here."

Neville did as he was told, an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face. "The Cruciatus Curse," began Amycus, "is a good way ter cause pain. The incantation is 'crucio.'" He looked expectantly at Neville.

Parvati was shaking visibly now, and Neville looked at Amycus in disgust. He stowed his wand back in his pocket and raised his chin, every movement speaking of insubordination. He said nothing, but shot a reassuring glance in Parvati's direction. He crossed his arms and waited.

Amycus' already small and beady eyes grew even smaller and beadier. "I see how i' is," he said in a dangerous voice. "Yeh'll either do the spell, or yeh'll switch with Patil."

Still, Neville said nothing.

Amycus nodded. He pointed to Malfoy and Nott. "Take 'im down ter the dungeons."

Nott and Malfoy grabbed Neville's arms and marched him out of the room. Ginny gripped the edge of her desk. She felt sick. She felt Alecto's eyes on her, and the woman gave a close-mouthed smile.

"I'm getting him out," Ginny whispered to Seamus. His eyes widened.

"Are-you-mental?" he hissed. "They'll half kill you when they catch you!"

"_When_?"

"Yes, Gin, _when_. There's no way you can pull this one off!" he said, his voice almsot panicked in its urgency. "He'll be fine. Please don't try this!"

Ginny didn't reply.

She waited until the end of dinner. Students poured into the halls. Ginny weaved through them, clutching a Decoy Detonator under her robes. She dropped the Decoy Detonator. It scurried away. A second later there was a loud bang, followed by copious amounts of purple smoke. As the other students hurried to investigate, Ginny ducked into the dungeons.

Neville was chained to the wall. Fresh welts crossed his face. "Why'd you come?" he asked her miserably. "You'll be caught!"

"Decoy Detonators, mate," she said. She pointed at the chains. "Alohomora."

They dropped to the ground with a clink. "We've got to hurry. We haven't got much time."

"No, you haven't," said a cold voice behind her. Ginny wheeled around. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she found herself face-to-face with a crowd of Slytherins.


	9. Something More Permanent

Note: So, I actually had this idea before I saw DH P1, but one event in it is strikingly similar to an event in the movie. I was going to change it, but I thought, hey, here's a nod to the movie.

Neville swore. Draco Malfoy's pale face loomed out of the darkness, but it wasn't him that had spoken. No, the words belonged to Theodore Nott, a dark, stringy boy in Malfoy's year. "What are you doing down here, Weasel Queen?"

Ginny tossed her head and leaned nonchalantly against the wall. "I fancied a chat with a friend."

"So I suppose it wasn't you that set off that little black thing in the hall? And I suppose that someone else let Longbottom out of his chains?"

Ginny shrugged.

The Slytherins closed in on them. "I think it's time that Little Miss Weasley is knocked down a peg or two," said Nott.

Ginny whipped out her wand. "Don't think I won't fight," she warned.

Nott grinned. "If you jinx any of us, you'll have the Carrows to answer to."

He had a point. But Ginny refused to let any Slytherin beat her without a fight. "_Expelliarmus!" _she shouted. Six jets of light flashes toward her, and she threw herself down onto the stone. A knee pressed into her back, and her wand was wrestled away from her.

"That was utterly pathetic. What shall we do to Little Miss Weasley?" Nott asked his fellows, who were busy chaining Neville. "I think we'll do something a little more...permanent," he said softly. He waved his wand, and the back of her shirt and sweater were torn clean through. Cold air washed over her back.

A couple of people whistled. Ginny's face burned. She said something that was not polite at all, and bit back a cry as Nott yanked on her hair. "What shall we write?" he asked. "The name of your precious Potter? Or perhaps your blood status?" He yanked her head back farther, dug his knee into her spine. "Who wants to do the honors? No one? I'll do it myself...I don't need a knife, idiot, Madame Pomfrey can mend those cuts in a second. But with a wand..." he trailed off. "Hold her down."

They pinned her to the stone. Malfoy pinned her wrists above her head. He looked ill, and would not meet her eyes.

"No!" shouted Neville. There was a dull thud, and his next words sounded like they were spoken through a mouth full of blood. "Leave her alone!"

Hot pain slid across her skin. She would have jerked, but she could not move an inch. She bit her tongue, but couldn't stop the tiniest sound of pain from coming out of her. Ginny concentrated on breathing as Nott slashed words across her back.

Laughter and jeers echoed around the stone, and tears of pain and humiliation stung her eyes. She forced them back. She would show no sign of weakness in front of them, no crying or begging or screaming. Nothing.

Her cheek rested against the stone, her jaw clenched shut and her hands balled into fists. She caught Malfoy's eye, once, and he looked away guiltily. He can't feel bad, she thought. He's incapable of human emotion.

When Nott had finished slicing words into her skin, he stowed his wand in his pocked and stood up. "Next time maybe you'll think before saving your little friends, Weasel Queen," he said, and he brought his foot down squarely on her back. She bit back a cry and said nothing. Malfoy let go of her wrists. He looked at the stone, face paler than usual and a slightly appalled expression in his eyes. Or maybe Ginny was imagining things.

She stayed on the ground until the Slytherins, still laughing, went out of the dungeon.

"Ginny?"

She gingerly got onto her knees and used the wall to pull herself up. "What does it say?" she whispered. "Tell me."

His eyes were wide, horrified, and sad. "Blood traitor," he said.

She nodded. "Let's go," she said. She unlocked his chains (again) and the two of them made their way slowly out of the dungeon. Ginny peered around the corner. "We're clear."

"Shouldn't you have Madam Pomfrey look at that?" asked Neville.

She shook her head. "You heard Nott. She can't mend them anyway. What's the point?"

"She might have something for the pain."

"I can deal with pain."

"Ginny, stop." He grabbed her arm, forced her chin up to look at him. "You're brave. You're strong. But you know the problem with brave, strong people? They're stupid. And you're no exception. You don't have to pretend that it doesn't hurt, you don't have to deal with everything by yourself."

Ginny said nothing.

"Harry would want you to go to the hospital wing."

He seemed to know immediately that he had gone too far. Ginny tugged her arm out of his grip and stalked off, leaving him standing in the hall behind her.

She stopped in a bathroom on the way. She craned her head around. It was painful to stretch her neck this far, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the livid red words standing out against her skin, slashed across her shoulder blades and lower back.

That'll never go away, she thought before she could stop herself. Never.

She didn't want to show the others. She mended her shirt and sweater with a quick spell that her mother had taught her. Once she was back in her dormitory, she changed when no one else was in there.

"What's that on your back?" said a voice behind her.

Ginny whirled around. Lavender stood in the doorway. "Nothing," she said quickly.

Lavender sat on the bed next to Ginny's, even though she didn't even sleep there. "Who did that?"

"Some Slytherins," said Ginny resignedly. "They thought it'd be funny. I guess I won't have to prove my blood status with a family tree if I've got it carved right on my skin."

"That's awful," said Lavender in a hushed voice. "It makes me want to do something."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Lavender, shrugging. "Something _rebellious_. Something that'll show them that we're more than bodies to torture."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Lavender, I think you're right. We need to do more."

"That's not what I meant!" said Lavender, alarmed. "Ginny, lay low for awhile. If you're caught, if you keep doing this, they'll cart you off to azkaban. Maybe even kill you."

"Oh, I know," said Ginny. "But you know what? We haven't been nearly annoying enough."


	10. Minor Mischief

**Please REVIEW!**

"Everyone listen up!"

Silence fell over the Room of Requirement. Twelve faces looked up at her. "It's been brought to my attention that we've not been nearly annoying enough-"

Lavender moaned in horror. "Ginny, that is NOT what I meant!"

"And I've got an idea," said Ginny, as though she had not heard her. "Do you remember when my brothers turned one of the corridors into a swamp?"

Heads nodded, and they chuckled. "Well, it just so happens that I have a couple of Instant Swamps," she said.

"Let's put one outside the old bat's office!" Seamus yelled. Cheers followed his words.

"And outside the Carrows' classroom," added Luna.

"Excellent," said Ginny. "We'll need lookouts..."

An hour later, Terry, Ernie, Michael and the Creevey brothers stood watch around the appointed places, ready to burst into a deafening chorus of 'Weasley is Our King' should any teachers come around. Seamus and Luna were ready outside the Carrows' office, and Ginny and Neville were on the seventh floor. They hid behind the statue of Penelope the Perfidious and waited.

Peeves came shooting through the corridors, singing a crude song. Snape swept out of his office like an overgrown bat. The poltergeist blew a giant raspberry and made a face, then swooped down the stairs. Snape followed, his black cloak billowing behind him.

Ginny and Neville went to work, and in short order a swamp was born. Murky water swam up to their knees. All manner of vines and trees climbed up the walls.

"This is impressive," said Neville, eyeing the mist that swirled across the surface of the water.

"Yes," said Ginny. For a moment she allowed herself to admire her brothers' product, but there was the pressing matter of discovery. "We've got to go."

Seamus and Luna had been equally successful. The Dark Arts hallway had transformed as fully as the seventh floor. Ginny didn't have time to say much before voices exploded into the air.

_ Weasley can save anything_

_ He never leaves a single ring_

_ that's why Gryffindors all sing_

_ Weasley is our king..._

"GO!" said Ginny. The four of them sprinted (as well as one can sprint) through the water and up the stairs. "Go to your dormitory!"

Neville grabbed her arm. "I've got an idea. Follow me." He led her up to the hospital wing and handed her a square of chocolate. "Fever Fudge."

Ginny stuffed the chocolate in her mouth, and the temperature dropped almost immediately. Neville led her through the doors. "Madame Pomfrey, I think she's sick," he said innocently.

Madame Pomfrey put a cool hand on Ginny's forehead. "Indeed! Lay down, young lady." She pointed to a bed.

Ginny lay down and curled up under the covers. Neville sat in a chair next to her. "Are you sure you don't want her to have a look at your back?"

"No," she snapped. Though she didn't tell Neville, the words showed no sign of fading, but glowed red against her skin. At least they didn't bleed anymore.

A headache pounded in her skull. Shouts echoed up from lower floors. "Good heavens, what's going on?" asked Madame Pomfrey. She scurried to close the door, but she did not make it before they heard a voice bellow:

"WEASLEY! LONGBOTTOM!"

Ginny closed her eyes, and Neville arranged his features in an innocent, politely confused expression. Snape and the Carrows barreled intot the room, closely followed by Professors McGonagall and Flitwick.

"Didja honestly think that you could get away with this?" hissed Alecto. "You've got another thing comin' to yer, missy."

McGonagall's nostrils flared. "Look at the girl! Clearly she's been in the hospital wing this entire time. Not even you can disprove that, Headmaster," she said to Snape. Her lips were as thin as Ginny had ever seen them.

"They could have come running in here as soon as they finished the deed," said Snape smoothly. "So it proves nothing."

"The swamp was conjured in the last ten minutes," pointed out McGonagall. "How long have Miss Weasley and Mr. Longbottom been here?"

Neville lounged in his chair as though he had nothing to fear, but his eyes were tense. He cast a would-be-casual glance at Madame Pomfrey. Ginny held her breath.

Without even blinking, she said, "They've been here for an hour."

Snape looked at her for a long moment and nodded curtly. "Very well." He turned and left. The Carrows threw threatening looks at Ginny and Neville as they followed. The door shut firmly behind them.

Ginny exhaled loudly, and Neville raked a hand through his hair. "I thought they'd got us," he admitted. He handed her the other half of the chocolate.

"Nah, McGonagall would've thought of something," said Ginny, swallowing. "You know what this means, Neville?"

"No..." he said, looking faintly alarmed.

She grinned. "We can stop holding back."

Over the next weeks, the tiffs between the D.A. and the Death Eaters turned into a full-out battle. Not a day went by without dung bombs in the halls, or jinxes landing Slytherins in the hospital wing. D.A. members snuck out every night to paint more graffiti, or generally wreak havoc in the hallways and classrooms, and the chandeliers had developed an interesting habit of falling on top of Slytherins and various teachers. Peeves was a valuable accomplice; he put aside his normal student-taunting ways and spent most of his time stuffing gum into locks and prodding the Carrows with the legs of chairs he had dismembered.

None of the other teachers seemed too fussed about it. They never wrote up detentions any more. McGonagall was a particularly adamant ally of the students; she never failed to have an excuse for whatever they were doing. "Nonsense, I left my book in the teacher's lounge and I sent Longbottom to fetch in for me," she said once, when Snape had caught Neville out of bed. She looked surprisingly fierce, wrapped in her tartan dressing gown with her hair out of its tight bun. "I'm not as young as I once was, Severus, and if I don't feel up to walking down five flights of stairs, then I will certainly call for a student to do it for me!"

Snape never argued; the students were convinced that he secretly feared that she would turn him into a wombat if he disagreed with her.

After several weeks of minor mischief, Ginny called a D.A. meeting on Thursday. One face was missing from the crowd. "Where's Michael?"

"The Carrows chained up a first year that he knew," said Terry Boot miserably, "for talking back in class. He wouldn't wait for the rest of us. He just took off."

"Idiot," said Seamus.

"Terry, stay up in your common room until he gets back. Make sure he's alright. If he's not...keep him alive until morning."


	11. Support Harry Potter

** So, I've taken some artistic license (aka, I mixed up the order of some events, but 'artistic license' sounds alot cooler) and put what happened to Michael here instead of after Easter. I apologize for the mistake, but I'm going to leave it how it is. Rest assured that for the duration of this fanfiction, I will have DH next to me, checking facts.**

**Enjoy. Review. :)**

It was a sleepless night. Ginny, Neville, and the other Gryffindor D.A. members sat in the common room into the night, saying nothing. The fire flickered across their faces. Ginny thought of Michael. They'd dated two years earlier, and his surly attitude had gotten on her nerves, so she dumped him. She'd never regretted breaking up with him, but by no means did she want him to be tortured.

Having one former boyfriend in danger made her think of another. She had forcibly removed all thoughts of Harry over the past few weeks, but this time she couldn't. Her stomach twisted in fear, and hideous images appeared in her mind's eye: Harry writhing on the ground in pain, a flash of green light, and then his eyes wide and empty.

It could happen. It really could. Any day now, they could recieve the news that Harry had been killed. Ginny did not have any hope that they would kill him quickly. Harry had told her about that night in the graveyard, about how Voldemort had tortured him, promised that he would kill him only after begging for death...the thought made her sick.

The night dragged on and on. Neville suggested doing homework, but Ginny threw him a look of such disgust that he dropped it and did not speak again. Come to think of it, it had been weeks since any of them had actually done anything resembling homework. McGonagall, Flitwick, and many other teachers had stopped giving it at all, since so many of their students had their hands full with detention. The Carrows still gave homework, but almost no one did it.

Ginny glanced at the clock every so often. Lavender was curled on her chair, asleep, and Seamus snored in an armchair. Ginny kept checking her fake Galleon, though she knew it hadn't changed. One of the first things they had done was learn the Protean Charm, in case any member needed to call an emergency meeting.

Ginny's eyelids grew heavy. The chair was warm and comfortable, and surely it wouldn't make a difference if she slept...She was no good to anyone half-dead...yes...

The next thing she was aware of was a burning in her pocket. Exhausted and confused, it took her several moments to realize what it was. "Neville! Seamus! Lavender! Get up!" she said. She shook their shoulders.

"Whatsgoinon?" asked Neville groggily. He put a hand in his pocket. Comprehension dawned on his face. The four of them crept out of the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's irritated exclamation.

Things had been so quiet lately that there were few teachers patrolling the corridors, and it was an easy matter to reach the Room of Requirement.

Every member of the D.A. was there, in pajamas and dressing gowns. They were huddled around a shape on the floor, a tall, familiar shape. "Is he...?" Ginny's question died in her throat.

Michael was unrecognizable. His face was bloody, nose clearly broken both eyes blackening. His robes were shredded, revealing deep cuts and welts. "Someone go get Madame Pomfrey," whispered Neville, who seemed to be the only one with the ability to talk. Someone left, but Ginny didn't see who.

Madame Pomfrey arrived several minutes later, with a large dragon skin bag. "Out of the way," she ordered. "Go back to your dormitories immediately. Those in Michael's House may stay."

Padma, Luna and Terry stayed; everyone else filed out. No one could speak; Ginny knew they were all realizing the consequences, rethinking things.

"We've got to do something," said Neville the next morning, "to boost morale, to show the Death Eaters that we can't be defeated."

"I think we should steal the sword," said Ginny.

Neville gawked at her. "But, Gin, it's in Snape's office."

"I know."

"You're mental."

"Everything is mental! Hogwarts is mental! We have to do something. You said so yourself."

"Yeah, but I meant do some more graffiti, or make a desk explode, not steal something out of the headmaster's office!"

"We're not stealing," said Ginny calmly. "The sword belongs to Harry, not to Snape. We're reclaiming it."

"Well, when you put it that way..." said Neville, resigned.

The D.A. reacted much the same as Neville had.

"Did you see what happened to Michael?"

"You can't ask us to do that, Ginny!"

"You're insane!"

"Fine," said Ginny calmly. "I won't ask you to do it. I'll do it myself."

"You won't be alone," said Neville.

"I'll come too," Luna piped up. She looked around dreamily. "There are alot of Wrackspurts in here..."

The students dispersed, muttering and casting anxious glances at Ginny. "How's Michael?" she asked Terry.

He shrugged. "About as well as he could be. Madame Pomfrey did what she could, but he's still in bad shape. He's staying in the hospital wing."

"Christmas holiday's almost here, and then we'll all have a break," said Ginny. "Speaking of which, does everyone have a place to go?"

"Most of us're going home. Seamus is coming with me, Lavender's going with Parvati...none of us are staying."

"Good."

The following day, Ginny bolted out of her last class. She pushed through the other students and hurried up to the seventh floor. Neville and Luna waited by the statue of an old crone. "Ready?"

Neville lit three of Fred and George's fireworks. They shot up into the air and exploded with a deafening bang. The three students crouched behind the statue as Snape tore out of his office after the glittering fireworks.

They crept into the headmaster's office. To Ginny's surprise, it looked very much the same as it had when Dumbledore occupied it, though she did not remember the last time she had been there very well; she had been eleven years old and sobbing.

Rubies winked at them from the hilt of the sword, sparkling in its glass case. Neville seized one of the silver instruments on Snape's desk and used it to smash the glass. "You want to do the honors?"

Ginny grasped the hilt and pulled it out of the case.

"Detention, Weasley, Longbottom, Lovegood," said a silky voice behind them. They whirled around. Snape stood in the doorway. His black eyes glittered like beatles. "Fifty points apiece from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."

He swept the sword out of Ginny's hands and repaired the case with a tap of his wand. "You will go down to Professor Hagrid's hut tomorrow at sunset for what I am sure will be a dreadful task. Get out of my office."

They left, congratulating themselves on escaping any form of physical pain, but their relief was short-lived.

"Longbottom, Weasley, come up here," barked Amycus Carrow. Ginny and Neville exchanged a look, full of resignation. "These two students broke into the headmaster's office last night and tried ter steal somethin'. Ya all know the punishment for misbehavin'. Crabbe, Nott, why don'tcha show the class how well you perform the Cruciatus Curse?"

"I get Weasley," muttered Nott. Crabbe advanced toward Neville.

The two Slytherins had become very, very good at the Cruciatus Curse, and they kept Neville and Ginny writhing on the stone for at least twenty minutes while the class watched in silence. Eventually Carrow said, "Enough," and Nott lowered his wand regretfully.

There was little talk at the Gryffindor table during dinner. Neville and Ginny shoveled food into their mouths at top speed, determined to eat something before detention. They both sported a few new burns and cuts, but were so used to it that they took little notice of them.

Luna joined them, and the three of them walked down to Hagrid's hut. He ushered them in and sat them down at his table. "I told 'em yeh'd be feedin' flobberworms," he said, "but I think yeh've had enough unpleasantness ter deal with, so I came up with a better idea. Do you still have them special Galleons with you?"

"Yes," said Neville suspiciously.

"Good. I was thinkin' that we might have ourselves a 'Support Harry Potter' party. What do you think?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't think-" began Neville, but Ginny cut him off.

"I think it's brilliant."

In short order, every member of Dumbledore's Army was crammed into Hagrid's hut. Some of them brought friends, and soon the hut was bursting with students. Hagrid revealed a stash of butterbeer and Honeydukes treats. The students sat around in clumps, eating and abusing Snape and the Carrows. Someone brought a gigantic poster that screamed SUPPORT HARRY POTTER! in flashing gold letters "You know, I think Fred and George left me a few Canary Custards," said Ginny over the din, "and I think it'd be amusing if one of the Carrows turned into a bird in the middle of class."

"You do, do you?"

The room went silent. Snape stood at the entrance, looking very batlike, flanked by the Carrows. "What's this?" said Snape. "A 'Support Harry Potter' party? That won't do." The three professors drew their wands. "I shall give you all ten seconds to get out of this hut," Snape said quietly, and there was a mad scuffle as they scurried to get out. "I should have expected this from you. Only a great bumbling oaf like yourself would think that you could actually get away with this."

What was visible of Hagrid's face went red with fury. "Yeh've got no right ter do what yeh've been doing, Snape," he roared. "Torturin' them every other day and beatin' 'em up every time they annoy you-it's wrong, and I won't stand for it, Death Eater!"

Three jets of red light hit Hagrid in the chest, but they glanced off him. He scooped up Fang in one arm and whacked Amycus Carrow over the head with his pink umbrella. He ran full-pelt toward the forest and disappeared.

Alecto and Amycus turned toward the students in a fury. The students turned to run, but found their way blocked by the entire Slytherin house, advancing toward them with sick smiles on their faces.

Neville grabbed Ginny's hand, Ginny grabbed Luna's, and so on until no one was alone. And so they stood together, under the stars, and faced the oncoming horde.


	12. For Dean, For Harry, For Freedom

The next morning, Ginny was stiff and sore. She winced with the awareness of fresh injuries. The Slytherins had not been gentle in their punishments. She stowed the last of her things in her trunk with a sigh of relief. Today was the first day of Christmas holiday, and she was going home. Everyone in the D.A. had a place to go, they had made sure of it. There would be no one staying at Hogwarts to feel the Carrows' wrath.

The mood on the train was a mixture of cheerfulness and apprehension. "I don't know how I'll hide this," said Parvati, displaying a long burn on her forearm.

"Wear long sleeves," advised Neville.

Ginny chose not to think about her parents' reaction to her appearance. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she concentrated on their game of Exploding Snap.

The sky was dark with snow, and white flurries swirled past the frosty window. The train came to a sudden lurch. The lights went out and left them in darkness. "What's going on?" said Neville's voice.

Someone screamed in the distance. They waited in terrified silence. Ginny drew her wand. "Lumos," she whispered. Dim light illuminated the compartment.

Shadowy shapes appeared on the other side of the glass. Dementors, she thought wildly, but it couldn't be, because there was no hideous sensation of cold despair...it had to be something else.

The door opened. Six masked Death Eaters stood in the doorway. "Where is Luna Lovegood?" one asked in a raspy voice.

Ginny, Neville, Seamus and Lavender crowded around Luna. "We're not letting you take her," said Ginny fiercely.

One of the Death Eaters laughed sourly. He pointed his wand at her ankle, and it broke with a loud snap. Neville caught her and held her up. "You'll have to get through us all," he said, his face shining with determination.

"It's alright," said Luna in a voice less dreamy than usual. "I'll go." She stepped forward amid protests. One of the Death Eaters grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out. "I'll be fine," she called back to them. After several minutes, the lights went back on and the train lurched forward.

It was silent for the next hour. As the train pulled into King's Cross Station, Ginny thought she'd be quite glad to leave it and never get back on. A tinge of trepidation marred her excitement. "I'll help you off first, and then get your trunk," said Neville.

"I don't need help," said Ginny absently.

He snorted. "Don't be stupid. You can't even walk."

He had a point, so Ginny let him drap her arm around his shoulders. He couldn't carry her though, so she used him as support as she limped painfully off the train.

It was easy to spot her family; their red hair made them look like their heads were on fire. Mrs. Weasley's smile melted away as she took in Ginny's appearance. Her eyes swept across the platform, where battered students met similar reactions.

"Ginny, dear," said Mrs. Weasley in a dangerously calm voice, "was there a train accident on the way here?"

It was amazing, thought Ginny, that she could fearlessly face torture and Death Eaters, but her mother's tone made her want to hide. "No," she said.

"Then where did you get all of this?" Mrs. Weasley traced a gash along her cheek.

Neville cleared his throat. "I'll, er, go get your trunk," he said hastily. He transferred her weight to Fred, who, for once, was unsmiling.

"Can we talk about it later?" asked Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley frowned, but Mr. Weasley put his hand on her shoulder. Neville returned with Ginny's trunk. "See you next term," he said. He hugged her so tight she thought her ribs would crack.

"See you next term." She was fully aware that this could be the last time she ever saw him.

"NEVILLE!"

They all turned to see Neville's grandmother running as fast as her heels would carry her. The vulture on her hat wobbled dangerously, and she narrowly avoided whacking several passersby with her large red handbag. Mr. Weasley looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. "Hello, Gran," said Neville. "Bye, Ginny."

He jogged to meet his Gran, who planted a kiss on his cheek. The two of them disappeared into the steam.

Fred scooped her up into his arms. "Hold on tight, little sister." He turned on the spot. There was a dreadful squeezing sensation, her lungs would wither from the lack of oxygen, her ankle was screaming-and then she gulped lungfuls of lovely, lovely air.

"I never want to do that again," she gasped.

"You get used to it," said George, who had evidently just materialized out of thin air.

Ginny was greeted enthusiastically by Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley, who were stunned by her state and eager to hear about Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley waited patiently until Ginny was seated in an old armchair by the fireplace. Kingsley and the Twins sat on the couch; Tonks, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Charlie and Bill leaned on the wall or sat on the floor.

"How was your term?" asked Mrs. Weasley in a deceptively calm voice as she mended Ginny's ankle. "How was Hogwarts?"

"Well," said Ginny, thinking very fast, "I've become good friends with Neville."

"Is that all you're going to tell us?"

"Probably."

"And all of this"-she gestured at her daughter's many injuries-"happened at Hogwarts?"

Ginny shifted around uncomfortably. "Yes."

"By the teachers?"

"Yes."

"Why, dear?"

Ginny cleared her throat. "Because we won't stand for what's happening."

"We? Who is 'we?'"

"Dumbledore's Army," said Ginny resignedly. Mrs. Weasley's reaction was predictable.

"You mean, you're risking both your life and your education for a TEENAGER'S GANG?" she shrieked.

"We're not just a gang, Mum, we-"

"What about your education? Have you been paying any attention to that?"

"They're teaching them to torture people, Mum," said Fred. "Do you really want her to be good at that?"

Mrs. Weasley ignored him. "You mean to tell me that you're neglecting your education to blindly follow some teenagers with delusions of grandeur just to feel like you're part of something?"

Ginny raised her chin. "I don't follow them, Mum. They follow me. I'm their leader."

"Ginny, I beg you to stop this nonsense. Don't you want to be alive when Harry gets home?"

"Yes! You have no idea how much I want to be here! I do, Mum, I do, but some things are more important!"

"Than LIFE?"

"Yes!" Ginny screamed.

"This is not a game, Ginny! These people are not to be trifled with. Do you have any inkling of the consequences?"

"I know the consequences, Mum, I've felt them. All of us-all of Dumbledore's Army-we've suffered for it. Michael Corner was in the hospital wing for a week after he helped a first year escape the dungeons. Parvati's been worrying the whole journey home about how to hide the burns on her arms. We've all been tortured for refusing to use the Cruciatus Curse on each other-"

"This is why you have to stop! You don't understand-"

Ginny turned around. She dragged the tip of her wand down her sweater and sliced open every layer of clothing until she reached her skin. She shrugged them forward so her back was on clear display for all of them to see. "Nott did this to me after I broke Neville out of the dungeons. I know the consequences, Mum." She repaired her shirt and turned around to face them. "Don't tell me I'm not prepared to face them, because I already have."

Shocked faces looked back at her. Fred and George looked ill. Mrs. Weasley was white. "Why are you doing this? Why can't you just keep your head down until Harry finishes whatever mission Dumbledore left him?"

"Because some things are worth fighting for."

"What? What is so important that you're willing to throw your life away?" asked Mrs. Weasley desperately.

"Hermione," said Ginny quietly. "Hermione, Colin, Dennis, Dean, and every other Muggleborn who's in hiding right now. Ron. Harry. We're fighting for Harry, Mum, so he doesn't have to hide anymore. We're fighting for our freedom."


	13. A Knitted Reminder

Dinner was a quiet affair. Ginny felt everyone's eyes on her while she ate her roast chicken. The slashes on her face were like gigantic signposts that drew attention. "Would you please stop looking at me?" she said finally. "I can't eat with fifteen people staring."

The others averted their eyes, but Mrs. Weasely maintained her pleading stare. "Please reconsider, dear. You'd be so much safter at home."

Ginny did not reply. How could she explain to her mother that her rebellion was driven by too many things for her to quit? How could she explain the burning anger she felt whenever she thought of the Muggle-born Registration? How could she explain that she did it so that Harry could come home, so he could finally be safe? He had left to protect her; she would fight to protect him.

The words she could not say but needed to tell bubbled and died on her lips. She looked at her plate and shook her head.

Mrs. Weasley's mouth trembled, and she left the room. Mr. Weasley followed her out, shooting Ginny a look that was full of many things: Anger. Despair. Pleading. Resignation.

To her humiliation, she felt tears well up in her eyes. Awkward silence lay over the room. George put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on."

The twins led her into the empty living room. She sat on a chair and put her head in her hands. Fred and George sat on the couch across from her and waited. "I don't want to hurt Mum," she said finally, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. The twins said nothing; they only waited.

"It's so hopeless," she continued, and then words were pouring out of her mouth before she could stop them. It was so good to talk to her brothers-she had always been close to Fred and George-and to finally admit her fears. "We do what we can-your products have been fantastic-but there's only so much we can do. The punishments have gotten so much worse. They nearly killed Michael, and I'm afraid that they really will kill someone. But we have to fight. We have to. I know it's worth it."

"It's normal to be afraid of torture, or of death," said George.

"But that's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm afraid of losing." She took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that I'll die before...before it ends. I'm afraid that Voldemort will win."

"It's Harry, isn't it?" said Fred knowingly. "Yeah, we figured."

"I'm afraid he's going to die."

"They don't have a clue where he is," George reminded her. "He's safe for the moment, and we'll know the second he isn't."

"Yeah, don't worry about Harry. You have enough to be worrying about without him. Besides, he's the Boy Who Lived," said Fred.

"Yeah, and he can't be the Boy Who Lived if Voldemort does him in," added George.

They were all quiet for a minute before Ginny said, "They took Luna. A bunch of Death Eaters came onto the train and dragged her off."

"That's because old Xeno's been writing articles that tell the wizarding community to stand together, support Harry and all that. They probably took her to make him behave," said Fred wisely. "Luna'll be okay."

"How do we know she's not dead already?"

"If they kill her, they don't have any incentive for her father to behave."

It was a grim picture, but nevertheless, it comforted her a bit. Don't worry about it, she told herself. You've got enough to be going on with.

But she worried anyway.

Christmas was quiet as well. Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley came over for a small gift exchange. She got a new Weasley sweater, some mince pies and some chocolate from her parents; a necklace from Fred and George; Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans from Kingsley; Honeydukes chocolate from Lupin and Tonks; a pair of fang earrings to match Bill's (he winked at her behind a horrified Mrs. Weasley's back); and a pair of dragonskin boots from Charlie.

After breakfast, Ginny wandered around the Burrow. She climbed the stairs to Ron's room and opened the door. The ghoul was gone-probably in his old dwelling. The room had an unlived air to it. Dust motes swirled in the rays of pale winter sun that filtered through the window and striped the floor. Ginny smiled at Ron's Chudley Cannons posters and bedspread. The dresser sat in an abandoned corner. One of the drawers was slightly open.

It was empty, except for two folded sweaters and a couple of t-shirts. She picked up the sweaters thinking they were Ron's, but with a jolt in her stomach she realized they were Harry's. One was green with an H on the chest; the other was maroon with a lion. Before she really knew what she was doing, she pulled the green one over her head. She rolled the other one under her arm and made a mental note to pack it in her trunk. As an afterthought she grabbed the t-shirts.

After she packed them away, she went downstairs. Fred looked at her oddly. "Isn't that...?"

"Yes," said Ginny curtly, before he could finish. He and George exchanged a look. She felt conspicuous with a giant H on her chest, and the residents of the Burrow gave her odd looks, but she liked wearing Harry's clothes, smelling like him, breathing in his familiar scent of cotton and sweat and something else she couldn't identify, something warm and solid and comforting.

Mrs. Weasley broached the topic over dinner. "Ginny, dear, I noticed you've been wearing one of Harry's sweaters," she said cautiously. "Don't you think that might be...making things worse?"

"No."

Molly sighed and continued eating her ham. "I just think-"

"Mum," said George, "let it go."

"Yeah, it's her choice if she wants to wear Harry's old clothes," said Fred. "Even if it's a bit creepy."

Defeated, Mrs. Weasley did not mention it again.

Ginny went to bed early. She put one of Harry's t-shirts over her pajama pants. She curled up under the covers and watched the moon rise outside her window.

She normally did not condone this kind of behavior in herself, but the pain was getting to her. Not physical pain; a much worse kind, a sharp ache in her chest that stuck to her like a Permanent Sticking Charm. Her insides felt empty and hollow, and it hurt her every time she breathed. The pain of it made her want to cry.

What she would give to know where Harry was! Was he alive? Was he alright? Did he think about her? Of course, she said, while another part of her scoffed. He's got those Horcrux things to look for, she thought to herself. In the madness of the past few weeks, she had completely forgotten about them. It was best to drop the subject, she decided. If anyone came poking around, she did not want them to know she had been asking about them. Though she did not know what they were, she knew that it was of utmost importance that no one else knew of their existence.

She turned her thoughts back to Harry and let her mind linger in stolen moments in the deserted courtyards. She fell asleep with his face hovering behind her eyelids.


End file.
